Fever
by animearia
Summary: In which Masahiro feels like death warmed up, and all he wants is Kousuke to hold him...but that's impossible...right? Wrong. A worried Kousuke skips out on work thinking Masahiro is hiding from him again, only to find he's got a fever and needs someone to finally look after him for once. ALL THE FLUFF.


**_A/N: Okaaaay this is my first time writing for this show/manga but I just had to write some kind of fic for it! I completely fell in love with the show and I'm so obsessed with it I'm reading the manga too! This wasn't supposed to be quite so long but I ended up writing a bit too much! It's pure fluff so I hope you enjoy! I wrote this at the request of wonderingwhereileftreality on Tumblr after I put out a call for prompts, because this prompt made me squeal and this sprang practically fully formed in to my brain!_**

Masahiro sneezed, his whole body lighting up with pain at the motion. He ached _everywhere._ Head, throat, chest, and the rest of his body felt weighted down. Not to mention the fever that was making him alternately cold and hot. He couldn't get comfortable, and he'd been having trouble getting any sleep. He sniffled miserably. _I suppose this is what happens when you spend hours and hours in rain and wet clothes and not getting enough sleep. It's my own fault. But….Kousuke…._

His mother wasn't home so he was curled up in bed all by himself. He checked the time and sighed. Unfortunately, time hadn't miraculously shot forward within the last five minutes. _Kousuke and everyone will be at school for hours yet._ He wanted nothing more than to see Kousuke but it would be _hours_ before he finished work. Masahiro burrowed further in to his blankets, turning his back on the clock that had so rudely refused to move, and dislodging the small mountain of tissues that had been collecting on his bed. He didn't have the energy to even attempt to gather them up. Masahiro shivered, clutching his blankets tighter around him. The fever had decided to make him feel freezing cold…again. He couldn't decide which was worse, when he was burning up….he missed being freezing cold and when he was freezing cold he missed being burning hot. He couldn't win.

He could feel things starting to get hazy again, his brain not quite working at it's usual speed, as his eyes started to drift close, but just before he could drift off, there was a loud banging on the door. He startled at the sound, eyes snapping open, debating whether or not he wanted…or even could move to answer it. _It can't be anyone important..not at this time of the day. They can come back later._ He thought blearily, before descending in to a loud, body wracking cough.

"Ouch" he groaned as it subsided and he sank back to the pillows. Noticing the sudden quiet as whoever had been banging on the door had obviously given up. _Thank God._ Masahiro lay there, attempting to drag air in to lungs that felt heavy and tight. He felt exhausted, and his eyes where bleary. He just... _I wish….I wish Kousuke where here…._ he thought, before jumping out of his skin as his bedroom door slid to the side with a loud bang. Startled he bolted upright, wincing as he did so and bringing his hand up to clutch his pounding head. He carefully twisted to see the intruder. _I must be delirious too, on top of everything else._ He internally groaned as he took in the sight before him. Rumpled suit, messy black hair, blue eyes slightly narrowed and the beauty mark he loved so much.

"K-k-Kousuke…."

"Why aren't you at school?! Why aren't you answering your phone? I thought we where past this Masahiro" Kousuke barked, waving the hand with his shiny new ring on it in front of him. "What's wrong? Why are you hiding from me?" He asked quietly. Masahiro blinked at the older man. _He's…..real? But shouldn't he be at work?_

"I'm…I'm sorry Kousuke, my phone….it's over there…." Masahiro gestured vaguely in the direction of his phone, sitting on his desk and too far away for Masahiro to reach. It had been there since the previous night, when he'd put it there before immediately falling in to bed and he hadn't managed to drag himself over to get it. His bed was too comfortable...the desk felt like it was hundreds of miles away from the softness cushioning his aching body. He was fairly sure it had no battery left anymore anyway. "I can't-" Masahiro broke off as another cough wracked his body.

Kousuke's eyes widened. He hadn't been able to get hold of Masahiro since the previous evening, usually they spoke on the phone before going to sleep but Kousuke hadn't received so much as a single text, and when he'd tried to call he'd gotten no answer. He'd shrugged it off as Masahiro having fallen asleep early, but when he hadn't arrived at school Kousuke had been…worried. He'd tried to call the younger man and gotten no answer….and then eventually his calls had starting going to voicemail. His texts went unanswered and Kensuke didn't know where he was either. He and Masahiro had fixed things…Masahiro had finally told him he loved him a couple of days ago. Things where going well but after everything they'd been through he couldn't shake the little knot of worry that Masahiro was avoiding him…hiding from him. Maybe he was unhappy with the rings…worried people would notice. Worried for Kousuke. Kousuke just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. So as soon as lunch had rolled around, he'd rushed over to Masahiro's home. There had been no answer but Masahiro had given him a key just the day before, so he'd used it to barge in to the apartment.

Kousuke hadn't immediately registered the sight in front of him when he'd barged his way in to Masahiro's room. He'd been relieved to find the younger man there, in the first place he'd searched, and been relieved to see him in one piece. He'd allowed his worry to overpower him and fired off questions before fully registering the Masahiro in front of him. It was the cough that finally made him register the sight before him. Masahiro was huddled in bed with the covers clutched to him, his face slicked with sweat, his hair sticking to his forehead. Tissues where everywhere. Scattered across the bed, tumbled to the floor. Masahiro's phone was indeed where he gestured, and by the looks of it, it had died, which explained the lack of communication. Another look at Masahiro contributed to that explanation. There was no way he could crawl out of bed to get to his phone. Kousuke couldn't help but feel relieved. _He's not hiding…not running away….he's sick. He's genuinely sick._

Masahiro finished coughing after what felt like an eternity, and turned back to where Kousuke had been standing. He jumped, the other man suddenly a lot closer than he had been before. Blue eyes studied his face, and a large hand reached out, brushing the damp hair stuck to his forehead back, before resting against his forehead. Kousuke's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not hiding from you Kousuke, I'm-"

"Sick. I can see. You're burning up" Kousuke stated, unhappily.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Masahiro frowned in confusion. _Perhaps I lost track of time…._

"Yes" Kousuke stated bluntly. "But I was worried, so I came to find you. It's lunch time" Kousuke checked his watch before pulling his phone out.

"What are you doing?" Masahiro said, worriedly. Kousuke ignored him.

"Hello? Ms Kaide? Yes. Could you cover my afternoon classes please? I won't be coming back in, I'm very sorry there's been an emergency. My fiancee is very sick, they need me." Kousuke paused, listening. "Thank you very much" He said brusquely before hanging up the phone.

"W-w-what did you do that for? You can't miss work just because-"

"Yes I can. You need someone to look after you, you can't even make it to your phone" Kousuke tsked. Masahiro's living situation annoyed him, Masahiro's mother annoyed him. She was never there for her son, she left him to fend for himself. It was why he was so good at cooking, he'd had to learn at a young age. He had to do all of the house work too. Most of the time he may as well live alone. Kousuke wasn't even sure Masahiro's mother would notice if he was sick. It would be up to him to care for him. If he could, he would take Masahiro back to his own house, and tuck him up in _his_ bed. But he didn't think Masahiro would be willing to move that far. The car ride alone would be uncomfortable for him.

"But…but…" Masahiro stuttered. Kousuke had just been made a full time teacher, his work was important. He didn't want him to get in trouble because of him, no matter how much he'd been wishing for the older man. Longing for him to show up and hold him until he felt better.

"No buts" Kousuke cut him off, narrowing his eyes at Masahiro. It looked like he'd fallen in to bed in whatever he'd been wearing on his way back from work the previous night. _He can't be comfortable._ "You need a bath and some fresh clothes" he mumbled to himself, dropping his bag, before taking off his jacket and throwing it over the back of the nearest chair. He rolled his sleeves up. Without any prompting from Masahiro, who was watching him with big, wide eyes, he located where the younger man kept his clothes, and selected a pair of comfortable looking pyjamas. A large shirt, and a a pair of loose bottoms. He threw them over his shoulder, before striding towards the bed. Masahiro squeaked as Kousuke lifted him, out of the bed and in to his arms.

"Are you hot right now, or cold?" Kousuke asked him casually as he walked down the hallway towards Masahiro's bathroom. As if he carried young men through their own homes every day of the week.

"C-c-cold" he responded. Kousuke nodded to show he'd heard and pushed the door of the bathroom open with his foot. He gently placed Masahiro on the toilet seat, before moving towards the bath. With one eye on Masahiro, who could barely seem to keep himself upright, Kousuke proceeded to run Masahiro a hot bath. The other man watched him, blinking. Not seeming to understand what he was doing or truly believing that Kousuke was there. Kousuke assumed Masahiro wasn't used to being the one looked after once. _I'll have to change that._

"You'll feel better after a bath" Kousuke promised. Masahiro looked skeptical but didn't protest as Kousuke gently tugged off Masahiro's shirt, dumping the garment on the floor before carefully unbuckling Masahiro's pants, sliding them down the other mans legs. Masahiro's underwear soon followed. The younger mans cheeks where flushed bright pink, but Kousuke was more intent on getting Masahiro in to the bath than anything else. He nudged the younger man towards the bath and Masahiro shuffled unsteadily forward. Losing patience, Kousuke swiftly scooped up Masahiro again, and gently deposited him in the warm and fragrant water. He heard Masahiro sigh and he smiled slightly, affectionately running a hand over the blonde's hair.

"You stay there, I'm going to get you medicine and something to eat, I won't be long, I promise" Kousuke said, softly. Kissing his forehead.

"Wait! Kousuke!" Masahiro called. Kousuke turned back towards him. "Thank you" Kousuke smiled at him, and waved a hand before disappearing through the door.

Kousuke quickly retrieved his wallet from his bag and shoved it in to his back pocket, before rushing out of the apartment and down the steps. He knew there was a convenience store nearby, and he walked as fast as he could, restraining himself from running. He still had some control over himself after all. A few minutes later, he hurried in to the store, and grabbed a basket before marching towards the nearest aisle. Kousuke rushed up and down the aisles, grabbing any food item he knew Masahiro liked, and any medicine he could get his hands on. It seemed like Masahiro had at worst the flu and at best a cold so he got any medicine he could find that claimed to relieve the symptoms he'd seen in the younger man. The store was thankfully empty, and he was checked out and on his way with two bulging bags in no time. By the time he'd made it back to Masahiro's apartment he hadn't even been gone half an hour. He barged through the door for the second time that day, dumping the bags on the table, before hurrying to the bathroom.

Masahiro was slumped in the bath, head tilted back and his eyes closed. He looked relaxed….comfortable. _At least he isn't shivering right now._ Sensing Kousuke's presence, Masahiro blearily opened one eye.

"You're back" he said happily. Kousuke's heart warmed at Masahiro's happiness to see him return.

"I promised I wouldn't be long" Kousuke smiled at him. "Are you ready to come out? We don't want the water getting cold" Masahiro nodded at him and started to try to stand but he was unsteady on his feet. Kousuke lunged forward and grabbed him by the arms to stop him from falling and hurting himself. With Kousuke steadying him, Masahiro gingerly climbed out of the bath. Once the younger man had both feet planted firmly on the bathroom floor and Kousuke felt it was safe to let him go, he grabbed the nearest towel from the rack and wrapped it around Masahiro. Kousuke gently tugged his fiance towards him, wrapping his arms around his towel covered body and resting his chin on Masahiro's head. He felt the teenager sigh.

"Feel better?" he asked softly, his lips close to Masahiro's ear.

"A little" Masahiro responded. "My nose and lungs feel a bit clearer" Kousuke smiled triumphantly.

"Good. Let's get you dry" he started to rub his hands over Masahiro's towel covered arms as he spoke. Kousuke took a smaller towel from the wrack, and draped it over Masahiro's hair, before starting to gently rub it dry. By the time he'd finished his task, Masahiro humming happily at the treatment, the towel had soaked up most of the water from Masahiro's body. Kousuke quickly finished drying him, the other man blushing the entire time. _Perhaps we can re-enact this another time, when he looks less likely to pass out from exhaustion._

"Cute" Kousuke breathed in his ear, making the other man start and blush even harder. He chuckled.

"You're not supposed to tease someone when they're sick, it's mean" Masahiro said boldly.

"Really?" Kousuke said, eyebrow raised, before leaning towards him "I'll have to make it up to you then" he said playfully. He watched as Masahiro's face turned an even deeper shade of red. Kousuke smiled, enjoying his favourite game. He reached for the pyjama pants, only to have Masahiro snatch them up first.

"I can…I can do that" he said shakily. Kousuke merely raised an eyebrow again, before turning to grab the shirt while Masahiro dressed his lower half. Once he'd finished, Kousuke carefully tugged the fresh shirt over Masahiro's head, batting the young man's hands away when he tried to takeover. He ran his hands down Masahiro's sides, smoothing the shirt down.

"Now, back to bed" Kousuke said, eyeing the unsteady teenager who'd already started to shiver again, his body leaning towards Kousuke's. Kousuke wasn't sure if Masahiro just couldn't stand upright, or if his body was leaning towards a potential heat source...or both.

"I can..I can walk" Masahiro said, face flushing as he remembered being pressed in to Kousuke's firm chest…the other man's strong arms wrapped around him. Remembered feeling warm...safe...loved, never wanting to move again. He couldn't let Kousuke carry him again, there was no telling what he'd do. The fever was hindering his judgement. But he still wasn't entirely steady on his feet…

Masahiro started to walk forwards, exiting the bathroom, Kousuke following closely behind. Once Kousuke was level with him, Masahiro grabbed his hand, holding it tightly as they walked back to his room, the older man threading their fingers together tightly. By the time they'd reached Masahiro's room, the younger man had both his arms wrapped around Kousuke's left arm like a vice, and his head resting on his shoulder. Kousuke led him over to his bed, checking that Masahiro was settled comfortably before tucking him in tightly. Making sure he was well wrapped in his blankets to keep as much heat in as possible. Kousuke turned to return to the living room and grab his supplies, when he felt a gentle hand grab his sleeve insistently.

"Don't go" Masahiro murmured. Looking up at him with big, pleading eyes. Kousuke's heart jumped.

"I won't. I'm just going to get some things from the other room. Promise" He said, stroking Masahiro's face gently. The teen nodded, reluctantly letting go of his sleeve.

By the time Kousuke returned a few minutes later, Masahiro was shivering harder than before. Kousuke frowned, setting down the bags with one hand, and the steaming bowl of soup with the other. He handed the bowl to Masahiro after helping him sit up, propped against his pillows.

"Eat this, it should warm you up and it won't hurt your throat" he said commandingly. Masahiro meekly nodded and reached for the bowl. His hands shaking. Kousuke made sure Masahiro had a firm grip on it, and had started to slowly spoon the hot liquid in to his mouth before turning away again. He rummaged through the bag, pulling out a bottle of water and a package of medicine that he thought might be best suited to Masahiro's sickness. _And if they don't work, then I have some others to try…._

Kousuke perched on the edge of Masahiro's bed, absently rubbing his back while he finished off his soup. The food brought a bit more colour to Masahiro's pale complexion, and he seemed to shiver a bit less than before. The soup doing its job and warming him from the inside out. Satisfied, Kousuke gently took the bowl from him and placed it on the ground for now. He handed Masahiro the opened bottle of water, and two pills, and Masahiro dutifully swallowed them down as instructed. Kousuke screwed the lid back on the bottle and tucked against the wall of Masahiro's bed, in easy reach, before unloading one of his bags. More packets of tissues where piled on to the bed, along with various snacks that Masahiro enjoyed, magazines, a new book. Masahiro looked wide eyed at all of Kousuke's purchases. _All of this…for me…._ Masahiro felt tears well up in his eyes. _No-one's…ever cared this much about me before….taken care of me like this before..._

Kousuke looked up at Masahiro's sniffle to see tears streaming down his face. _Don't panic….don't panic…._ he told himself. "What's wrong? Does something hurt?" Kousuke asked, leaning closer to Masahiro.

"N-n-no it's just….no-one's ever…" Masahiro sniffed again. Kousuke's eyes softened in understanding.

"I l-l-l-love you Kousuke" Masahiro sniffled. Kousuke gently swiped at Masahiro's cheeks, wiping them free of tears.

"I love you too" he said softly leaning closer to Masahiro, eyes intent on the other mans lips.

"Don't, you'll get sick too" Masahiro protested, pushing on his chest feebly.

"I don't care" Kousuke said blithely, before pressing his lips to Masahiro's in a long, gentle kiss. He gently licked at Masahiro's lips, sliding his tongue in for a deeper kiss when he opened them for him. His hands cradling the younger man's face carefully.

Eventually, Kousuke pulled away, stroking Masahiro's hair for a few moments before speaking.

"Move over"

"Hmm?" Masahiro hummed.

"You're still shivering, move over" Kousuke instructed, lifting the blanket up and swingings his legs up on to the bed. Masahiro scooted over, making room for Kousuke. Kousuke settled the blanket around them, before wrapping his arms around Masahiro and tugging the teenager towards his chest. Masahiro snuggled as closely as he could, his face buried in Kousuke's chest, one arm wrapped tightly around his waist, his other hand clutching Kousuke's shirt. Kousuke smiled down at him, one hand sliding up to gently stroke his hair. Smiling softly, he kissed Masahiro's head.

"Go to sleep, you look exhausted" he murmured. In response Masahiro snuggled even closer, his hand tightening on Kousuke's shirt. Kousuke chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. I'm going to look after you." He murmured in to Masahiro's ear before kissing the soft skin just under it.

Masahiro sighed happily. He'd felt so terrible, all he'd wanted was Kousuke to come and hold him like this, he'd thought it would be impossible but Kousuke had appeared, like he'd known Masahiro needed him. And now he was wrapped in Kousuke's warm arms, being held tightly. Lovingly. He closed his eyes and breathed in Kousuke's smell. Letting the other man's heartbeat lull him in to sleep.


End file.
